Several Rhode Island teachers, including the 2018 RI Teacher of the Year Kristin Hayes-Leite, will travel to El Paso, TX with their colleagues from across the country to take part in a teach-In aimed at calling attention to migrant children still in custody of the U.S. government.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 14, 2019

Rhode Island teachers will participate in Teach-In for Freedom to demand justice for detained migrant children

Cranston, R.I. – Several Rhode Island teachers, including the 2018 RI Teacher of the Year Kristin Hayes-Leite, will travel to El Paso, TX with their colleagues from across the country to take part in a teach-In aimed at calling attention to migrant children still in custody of the U.S. government. The Teach-In for Freedom, scheduled for Sunday, February 17, beginning at 9:00 a.m., is organized by Teachers Against Child Detention (TACD) led by 2018 National Teacher of the Year Mandy Manning. They will call for the government to end the detention and criminalization of immigrant children and their families.

“As teachers, we are mandated to report abuse and neglect - it is our moral and legal obligation to take action to protect the youngest and most vulnerable members of society,” said Hayes-Leite. “We see firsthand the effects that trauma and extreme stress have on our students’ ability to learn. So, when Mandy Manning asked all state teachers of the year to join her in speaking out, I answered the call.”

“We know there are children suffering while in custody of our government and we know there are potentially thousands more separated children then initially reported,” said National Education Association Rhode Island President Larry Purtill. “I applaud the teachers participating in the Teach-In for Freedom and encourage NEARI members here at home to show their support.”

On Sunday, February 17, 2019, TACD will stage a live-streamed “Teach-In for Freedom” on San Jacinto Plaza in El Paso, Texas to be broadcast across Facebook, YouTube and other media outlets starting at 9:00 a.m. Educators from across the country will deliver short lessons on topics including immigration, human rights, separation trauma, and why migrants flee their home countries.

Hayes-Leite teaches 9th Grade in Narragansett. She will be joined in El Paso by fellow Narragansett teacher Kathy Couchon; Amy Mullen, NEA Director and teacher from the Tiverton School District; and Mick Lefort, a teacher from the South Kingstown School District.

More information: www.neari.org/TIFF

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